The Underground Railroad in Boone County 1837-1863
North Bend
Addyston
5
Delhi
4
Universalist Church
3
Margaret Garner Escape
1
North’s Landing
2
Patriot
Legend
1
Driving Tour Stop Locations
Suspected Crossing Locations
Suspected Escape Locations *approximate
1883 Atlas of Boone, Kenton & Campbell Counties, Kentucky.
The Underground Railroad
in Boone County
1837-1863
1
Introduction
Margaret Garner
For decades, there was
speculation as to Boone County,
Kentucky’s role in regional
Underground Railroad (UGRR)
activities, but little to no evidence.
Resources such as the Wilber H.
Siebert Collection at the Ohio
Historical Society, provided clues
as to the crossing points, possible
routes and the key players in
Boone County’s most controversial
story.
The escape of Margaret Garner
and her family from Richwood in
January 1856 has been the focus
of much controversy and has been
the flagship story of Boone
County’s Underground Railroad
history. Beloved, a fictionalized
version of her escape and
recapture was written by Toni
Morrison in 1987 and made into a
movie in 1998, starring Oprah
Winfrey.
The research is an ongoing
process. Although there is
evidence of over 40 UGRR
incidents between 1837 and 1863,
much of the evidence is
circumstantial and further research
is necessary to confirm the
content. BCPL will continue to
make additional information
available online and in future tours.
For more information regarding
Margaret Garner and her escape:
www.bcpl.org/cbc/doku.php/
margaret_garner
Underground Railroad of Boone
County Timeline:
Big Bone
2
Petersburg
4
Intrigue and controversy
surrounded the 1853 accusations
of slave abscondment by local
doctor Thomas J. Trundle. Court
documents shine light on the
dissension within the Union-Big
Bone neighborhood and provide
evidence as to the route to
freedom across the Ohio River to
nearby Patriot, Indiana
During the mid-1800’s, Petersburg
was a hub of activity with the
distillery and trade both up and
down the river. Adjacent
Lawrenceburg, Indiana was a key
station on the UGRR, where
conductor Elijah Anderson lived
during this time period. The 1853
escape of Cincinnati 28 was one of
the better known escapes from
Boone County.
Rabbit Hash 3
For more information regarding
Elijah Anderson:
Rising Sun, across the Ohio River
from Rabbit Hash, was a wellknown hub of UGRR activity. The
mouth of Middle Creek, just up
river from Rabbit Hash, is a
suspected crossing point for
several escapes. In late 1847,
conductor Laura Smith Haviland
attempted an extraction of a Rabbit
Hash family, but the attempt failed.
For information regarding Laura
Smith Haviland:
http://www.bcpl.org/cbc/doku.php/
laura_smith_haviland
.
http://www.bcpl.org/cbc/doku.php/
elijah_anderson
North Bend
5
The Taylorsport and North Bend
areas were well documented in
newspaper accounts as crossing
points for the UGRR. Vocal
abolitionists with ties to College Hill
lived directly across the river in
Ohio. During the early 1850’s there
were complaints among
neighborhood slave holders that an
emancipated Africa American
family was actively ferrying slaves
across the river.
Thomas Satterwhite Noble [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons
A special thank you to the
following people and
organizations:
Big Bone Lick State Park
Boone County Historic
Preservation Review Board
Boone County Parks Dept.
College Hill Historical Society
Diane Perrine Coon
Dinsmore Homestead Foundation
Friendship Force of Cincinnati
Rabbit Hash Historical Society
Richwood Presbyterian Church
For more information regarding
Boone County History:
Boone County Public Library
Local History Department
859-342-2665 x8134
[email protected]